Filed under: Storage

It’s been a real roller coaster ride of emotions with SSD. The once lauded (at least in our hearts) savior of all things computing has, in real life, provided us with lackluster and even controversial performance gains, while battery improvements haven’t been revolutionary and the prices still aren’t exactly wallet-friendly. Most of that is unlikely to change in the next couple of years, but there’s still plenty to be fixed in the short term. Samsung is working with Microsoft to define optimum packet sizes and best practices for reading and writing files to SSD as a potential update for Windows Vista, which is particularly optimized to work best with traditional hard drives. Sun is also working to improve SSD support with its next-gen ZFS file system, which in addition to powering its Solaris OS should be making an appearance in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, at least in the server version. There’s clearly still plenty of untapped potential in SSD, let’s just hope the powers that be figure this stuff out sooner rather than later.

[Via Mac Rumors]

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We have no real way of verifying whether or not these so-calls crystals were purchased alongside some bizarre time machine on eBay, but we’ll take this guy’s word for it and assume not for the time being. Reportedly, University of Queensland professor Max Lu has teamed up with researchers in order to grow “the world’s first titanium oxide single crystals with large amounts of reactive surfaces.” Put simply, these very crystals can “absorb sunlight and convert it into electricity.” It’s said that Lu has been working on the project for some 15 years, and even now, he doesn’t expect the creation to be commercially viable for another decade. Aside from morphing into fairies and making dreams come true, the things could also be used to “purify air and water.” Pair this up with an invisibility cloak and we’ll really be in business.

[Thanks, Brendan]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Interviews

We recently got a chance to briefly sit down with Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz, who definitely ranks among the geekier and more sincere CEOs we’ve had the privilege to meet. We discussed the long-missing JavaFX Mobile platform Sun promised a while back, as well as Java on the iPhone, and doing battle with Microsoft as an open source software vendor. Check it out over on Engadget Mobile!

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Filed under: Desktops, Misc. Gadgets, Laptops

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Filed under: Cellphones

We’re sure there have been some really great Java Micro Edition apps developed over the years, we just haven’t been fortunate enough to find any that aren’t a Bejeweled variant run into many of them. But that could very well change with the news that Sun is using that fancy new SDK to develop a Java Virtual Machine for the iPhone, which it expects to have ready “some time after June,” and which will allow iPhone users access to the vast libraries of existing JME apps. We suppose the real conundrum now is which Java ME app we’ll grab first: Harry Potter, or MapQuest Mobile. These choices, they overwhelm us.

[Via Mac Rumors]

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Intel’s had its new processor plans slipped out to the public thanks to Sun, according to DailyTech. Details on the 6-core (!) Xeon Dunnington, as well as the kinda-sorta hush-hush Nehalem were apparently leaked out onto Sun’s public web server over the weekend, including plans for the new Xeons to overtake the company’s Tigerton CPU line. The Dunnington processors will have a 16MB L3 cache shared by all six cores, and will be pin-compatible with the Tigertons, thus making integration with your Clarksboro chipset slightly less painful… by being possible. The Nehalem also got the spy treatment, with news that it will not only replace the Penryn line in Q4 ‘08, but will also be the first time in 18 years that Intel includes on-die memory controllers. If this sort of thing is important to you (and we think it may be) hit the read link and get all the juicy details.

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Filed under: Desktops, Misc. Gadgets, Laptops

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Filed under: Laptops

Friends, are you sick and tired of the constant struggle to use your laptop while sunbathing? Do you find yourself battling the life-giving rays of our closest star, desperately trying to finish that presentation… pool side? Well toil in vain no more — the LapDome is here. That’s right, instead of going inside like a normal person, now you can cover up your laptop with the most ludicrous and embarrassing product since the Pocket Fisherman. You’ll get the idea real quick — it’s a mini-tent used to shield your computer from the sun, and the glare which it causes. The company’s ad campaign asks “Does this look familiar?” next to the depiction of a woman covering her laptop with a beach towel, then suggests covering your laptop with a small tent might look better. We suggest stopping the madness, ASAP.

[Via Pocket-lint]

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Filed under: Transportation

Although this isn’t the first time we’ve heard “solar-powered” and “kayak” used in the same sentence, the SPK-1 does its darnedest to make us shake our heads in disbelief. This “outrigger attachment” essentially hooks onto any medium / large-sized kayak and relies on the sun to charge up the 12V deep cycle marine battery. From there, a Minkota trolling motor provides the power your kayak needs to move about in the water, leaving you with nothing better to do than kick back, enjoy a book and keep an eye on any incoming yachts. Sure, you could consider the $1,100 adornment an exemplification of indolence, but we think it’s more like training wheels… only, for your kayak.

[Thanks, Rich H.]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals

Bluetooth headsets are one of those accessories that need to work well and stay the hell out of your way, and often times remembering to charge them (in addition to your phone) is a real drag. Incoming from the ridiculously obvious department: Iqua’s solar-powered Bluetooth headset. We’re not sure how much solar charging is an order to combat the energy stresses of use (or whether this thing for sure has a battery — although we can’t imagine why it wouldn’t), but one less minuscule gadget to worry about charging is just fine by us. We’ll hit you with more on this one as info becomes available.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Desktops

What happens when you combine Sun’s Small Programmable Object Technology with its Project Looking Glass 3D user interface environment, and add a glove with an accelerometer? Apparently, the second third attempt at the early 21st century’s equivalent of Minority Report’s glove based user interface, with a demo video showing an operator browsing a desktop using simply hand and finger motions. There’s a pretty noticeable lag, the system still uses a mouse pointer, and the operator obviously has to stand dead still for it to work, but this is probably the closest anyone has come to emulating the geek dream that is the pre-crime memory navigator that Tom Cruise evangelized in the film. It’s about time that someone figured out a system that could replace the humble mouse: unfortunately, this is only a baby step towards that goal.

[Via sLists; thanks, akhel]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

Considering that we’ve already seen Sun parade its iPhone-like Java Mobile FX platform around, it’s not too surprising to hear that Samsung and Sun Microsystems could be teaming up to “jointly develop a mobile phone to challenge Apple’s iPhone.” Furthermore, the two firms already have a history together, and according to Sun Chairman Scott McNealy, the duo could be working on “a Java phone that would surpass Apple’s iPhone in functionality and cost less.” Of course, Sun’s spokespeople couldn’t be reached for comment and Samsung’s folks simply stated that “no decision had been made regarding co-development of the Java phone,” so it looks like we’ll be filing this away in the somewhat believable rumor cabinet for the time being.

[Via CNET]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!